NoBo Gear List- Tentative

[showtime_]

Hey everyone,

I have compiled a list of the gear I will be bringing on the trail with me and am looking for suggestions on weight, gear choices and anything else that may come to mind after reading.

I will be starting from Springer in early June after I get out of the Marine Corps. The longest trip I've been on is five days, but I wasn't trying to do any high mileage. I have been doing 20 miles a day on Saturdays and Sundays consecutively without problem on the trails on base or in shenandoah national park, and can only hike 20 to 25 miles Monday thru Friday because of time restraints, so I'm mainly just getting my tendons and joints used to hiking every day.

I know I will be starting very late, but I think that with the preparation I am doing, along with the right mindset and pack weight, it is very possible. In addition to Baxter State Park closing the trail up Katahdin, October 4 will be my one year sobriety anniversary, so I have both thoughts to keep me on pace.

That may have been too long, but usually when I read posts like this everyone asks for more information such as MPD goal and what type of shape you are in. I am aiming to start at Springer doing 20s.

BIG THREE

Pack: Osprey Atmos 50 3lb 4oz
Tent: Big Agnes Seedhouse SL1 no footprint 2lb 9oz
Bag: Kelty Cosmic 35 degree synthetic 2lb 1oz

CLOTHING

Dry Fit short sleeve shirt x1
Soccer Shorts x1
Silkies running shorts (mainly hiking in these)x1
UnderArmour Compression Pants x1
PolyPro long sleeve top x1
Marmot Rain Jacket (for wind and rain)x1 13oz
SmartWool MD hiking socks x1
Injinji sock liners, MD x1

ON BODY (not inckuded in previous category)

Dry Fit shirt sleeve shirt
Silkies running shorts
Injinji sock liners, MD
SmartWool hiking socks, MD
Brooks sweat wicking ball cap
Salomon XD PRO 3D (not goretex) shoes
Black Diamond Trail Pro Trekking Poles

FOOD AND WATER

Jetboil Flash (I have the French press but will probably leave it, haven't decided) 16 oz
Spork 2oz
Sawyer Mini Squeeze 2oz
SmartWater bottle x2

HYGIENE

Travel toothbrush/toothpaste
TP in a ziploc
Microfiber towel, LG 9oz
(Considering Dr. Bronners but unsure)
Body glide

ELECTRONIC

Energizer Headlamp 4oz
Galaxy S4 phone w/ Otter box and charger
GoPro Hero 3 White w/ housing and charger

MISC

Closed cell sleeping pad, military 13oz
50 ft of 550 cord (paracord)
Food bag (should this be waterproof?)
Knife
Debit card, credit card, drivers license and limited cash


I have probably overlooked something in some area, but I can't think of anything at the moment so I am asking for opinions; there is a wealth of knowledge on this site and it has helped me greatly just reading over the past three years.

I also realize I don't have the weight for everything, but I don't have a small scale. When weighing my pack now it comes out to 17 to 18lbs without food and water. I have been doing all of my hiking with my pack loaded to 30lbs.

Hopefully I have given enough information to give anyone reading a clear picture, and if not I will be checking on here! I am stationed in Quantico, Virginia if anyone would like to get together and do some hiking.

[MamaBear]

Looks pretty good. The one thing I'm not seeing is an emergency kit of some kind. Doesn't have to be fancy, but a some ibuprofen or Tylenol, plus a few bandaids, etc. might be useful. Might want to also include anything you'll need for taking care of your feet or any chaffing you might have in other areas.

Would be nice if your food bag is waterproof, never know if it will get hung in the rain or rain overnight unexpectedly on it.

Might want to add your insurance card, too, to your wallet. Not sure what your situation will be with that once you are out of the military.

[Poedog]

The big 3 seem a tad heavy in relation to the rest of your kit. Ditch the towel, get a bandana.

Congrats on your one year!

[showtime_]

I knew I was forgetting something. Haha. I will be bringing some ibuprofen, an ace wrap, small tube of neosporin and some moleskin.

Headed to REI today so I will be picking up a bag for the food, and am considering a pack cover because I hate lugging around a wet pack.

[showtime_]

Thanks for the advice on the towel vs. bandana. The towel is probably overkill now that I think about it.

And I noticed the same thing about the big three when I decided I was going to try and hike with a sub 20 baseweight. Unfortunately I bought those three well before that. Our local REI is having a garage sale soon, so I might see what is available there, and how much I would be able to get back for anything, but i really like the way all three perform.

Also, the insurance card is a good idea.

[norts]

You have said charger for your electronics, are those only the outlet chargers, I would recommend a powerpack charger. Wont need a large one but it is nice to be able to charge electronics while in the field.
If you are going to hang your food bag I would recommend that it be waterproof, it is going to get wet. if it isnt wet you are going to have to make sure everything inside it is in a waterproof bag- not worth the hassle.

Taz

[showtime_]

Hey Taz,

They are only the wall charger. I keep forgetting to look into a portable power pack, thanks for the reminder!

I went ahead and picked up a waterproof compression sack this weekend. It turned out to be a great investment because during the day I can put my sleeping bag and my clothes in there and compress them, which I wasn't doing before, and it saves a lot of space. Then when I pitch my tent for the evening I can hang my food in it.

[mountain squid]

Some observations:

might not need a long sleeve shirt in June
not really sure what compression pants are, but might not need in June
3 prs of shorts? - 2 should be enough; one for hiking, one for sleep/town (when doing laundry)
extra pr of socks for camp use only and always dry
camp shoes
knife needs only to be big enough to slice bagels and spread pnut butter - military guys have a tendency to bring a Rambo knife?!?
small swiss army knife w/ tweezers and scissors would suffice
hand sanitizer
needle for draining blisters
lighter
duct tape
ear plugs
pencil
small notebook
insect repellent
head net
Companion/AT Guide - guidebook with town info
not sure if I would like food smells on my sleeping bag


20 miles a day to start is VERY ambitious. The hikers that can do 20s to start are hikers that know for a fact that they can do 20s to start. Certainly you will be in better shape than the vast majority of hikers. However, that should only translate into less soreness than everyone else and the ability to get up and over the mountains much easier and not into doing 20s from day one. It probably takes most hikers 2-4 weeks before they even get their first 20.

You might be able to do 20s to start but why risk injury and potentially have to get off the trail. Compared to GA/NC/TN, SNP is flat and not a good gauge for doing consistent 20s. The Military is good for acronyms, have you heard the term PUDs yet?

Suggest that you start off with lower mileage days and work your way up to 20s. Also suggest coming to Trail Days (http://traildays.us/index.php?id=1) in May. Good Luck and Have Fun!

See you on the trail,
mt squid

(http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?100363-2014-Norovirus-Awareness)some observations (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?14493-observations-from-fs42-(advice-for-first-week-on-trail)&highlight=)
maintenance videos (http://www.youtube.com/user/mountainsquid04/videos)
how to hike (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?73587-how-to-hike)

[showtime_]

Mountain Squid,

Thanks for the input. I wasn't planning on relying on anyone else to send me anything, which is why the long sleeves/pants are included. I suppose it would be beneficial to leave them out and have them sent later.
Shorts- I will cut back to two
Socks- I guess one more pair isn't bad
Camp shoes- forgot to mention, I'm bringing sanuks
Knife- Already decided on a small Swiss Army knife instead of a big one
Hand Sanitizer- Maybe.. I've been out in the field before without it for a while
Needle- What's the point if I already have a knife?
Lighter- I'll bring it
DuctTape- Wrapped a bit around trekking poles already
Ear Plugs- Hadn't considered since I will be tenting as much as possible
Pencil/notebook- forgot to list, in pack already
Bug Spray/net- Probably not going to bring. Grew up with the mutant power plant mosquitos on the gulf coast
AT Guide is on order

I will just take the mileage day by day. I realize that it is a very ambitious goal and cannot replicate the elevation gain/loss anywhere around here. However, I still don't think it is an unattainable goal. Last weekend I did a 12 mile circuit hike in SNP with 3,000 ft gained and 3,000 lost in 4 hours and 15 minutes. Yesterday I did 20 miles with 2,430 ft gained and the same lost in six and a half hours. I know that the elevation gain/loss will be greater on the actual AT, but I felt fine the next day after each of them when I went for a shorter hike. Not trying to argue, just showing you why I think it is possible for me to do this with the way I am training.

I know my body pretty well and know when to keep going and when to rest it. Yes, I know what PUDs are (they sound so exciting...).

Thanks for all the advice!

[norts]

Duct tape around poles ,I dont want to start a flame war but I will give another opinion on this. It gets pretty ratty after a 1000 miles on your pole. I prefer to put some aound something else in my repair kit. When you need it you dont want to find that it has been trashed by rocks/bush/rain or mud.

Needle - yes, and some dental floss( much better to sew with and stronger). Duct tape and needle/dental floss, pole sleeve( duct tape wrapped around that) is about the extent of my repair kit. I carry a pole sleeve because I have a tent that wont go up with out that curved pole- yes I have used it in the past).

I carried a a plastic disposable knife for spreading and a small leatherman for cutting; with scissors(toenails/trim beard etc). Blade on the leatherman was a pain to use to spread nutella so I got a plastic knife( same knife is coming with me on the PCT).

Taz

[Rising3agle]

A couple of specific things I noticed -

- the pack is a really comfortable one. I have the 65L version and love it. it is a bit heavy, but it's nice having a semi-durable pack that molds to your back, and has channels for air movement. Spending a bit of extra weight here for a really comfortable pack, IMO, is worth it.

- drop the 550 cord for some zing-it or something lighter. 550 cord is something us military guys can have a thousand uses for (from silencing dog tag chains to replacement shoe laces) but it's pretty heavy stuff and I've noticed when using it for a while it gets ratty and knotted up a lot. something lighter would probably work just as well

- knife. I'll disagree with a lot of people on the knife, I like my Mora knife, it weighs 5oz, and has a plastic sheath. It holds up well to a lot of the banging / rigor I put it through, and I don't have to mess with a razor blade folded in a piece of cardboard. Having a full knife is something hard for some to get away from, but luckily you can still get pretty light with one

- duct tape. Get some gorilla tape. I personally don't wrap it around anything I use - trekking poles, water bottles, etc. it eventually gets wet or banged up or whatever. Instead what I do is take an old business card / credit card, and wrap it around that lengthwise. Get about 8-10 turns on it, and it's enough to do most repairs. Gorilla tape is so much better than duct tape, it's worth the buying the roll.

gotta run - but those were a couple thoughts I had as I read through. Good luck!

[RangerZ]

- drop the 550 cord for some zing-it or something lighter. 550 cord is something us military guys can have a thousand uses for (from silencing dog tag chains

Please recognize the reason that dog tags are on that BREAKABLE beaded chain. You don’t want to be hung by your dog tag chain.

[showtime_]

A couple of specific things I noticed -

- the pack is a really comfortable one. I have the 65L version and love it. it is a bit heavy, but it's nice having a semi-durable pack that molds to your back, and has channels for air movement. Spending a bit of extra weight here for a really comfortable pack, IMO, is worth it.

- drop the 550 cord for some zing-it or something lighter. 550 cord is something us military guys can have a thousand uses for (from silencing dog tag chains to replacement shoe laces) but it's pretty heavy stuff and I've noticed when using it for a while it gets ratty and knotted up a lot. something lighter would probably work just as well

- knife. I'll disagree with a lot of people on the knife, I like my Mora knife, it weighs 5oz, and has a plastic sheath. It holds up well to a lot of the banging / rigor I put it through, and I don't have to mess with a razor blade folded in a piece of cardboard. Having a full knife is something hard for some to get away from, but luckily you can still get pretty light with one

- duct tape. Get some gorilla tape. I personally don't wrap it around anything I use - trekking poles, water bottles, etc. it eventually gets wet or banged up or whatever. Instead what I do is take an old business card / credit card, and wrap it around that lengthwise. Get about 8-10 turns on it, and it's enough to do most repairs. Gorilla tape is so much better than duct tape, it's worth the buying the roll.

gotta run - but those were a couple thoughts I had as I read through. Good luck!

hey, thanks for the advice!

I do really like the pack. Walked from Harper's Ferry to D.C. this weekend (very flat, but a good distance) and it gave me no problems.

I never considered another cord, I will have to look into it.

I've seen a few Mora knives but had no idea they were that light!

We actually have some gorilla tape here that I forgot about until you mentioned it. Also, great tip on using the credit card!

[Cadenza]

First,.....THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!

Second,.....Starting off young and already in shape,...I think you can do the miles.

Third,....Don't be in too big of a hurry. Enjoy the trail.

Fourth,.....Enjoy the rest of your life.
You've done your service. You're sober. There's no reason you shouldn't excel in life.

[showtime_]

First,.....THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!

Second,.....Starting off young and already in shape,...I think you can do the miles.

Third,....Don't be in too big of a hurry. Enjoy the trail.

Fourth,.....Enjoy the rest of your life.
You've done your service. You're sober. There's no reason you shouldn't excel in life.

Thanks. I finally got a solid date.. I'm getting out June 3 and heading to Springer. While 100 days is still a goal, it is not a priority.4 months is acceptable and probably a lot easier.